Carbide Processors Blog

A Great Volunteer Activity

Posted on Wednesday, March 14th, 2012 at 9:33 am. Tweet

Triangle Lake Charter School 

Triangle lake School Thank You 1

We have been working with the Triangle Lake Charter School in Blachly, Oregon and we are having a lot of fun.  http://www.blachly.k12.or.us/

The school is 45 miles northwest ofEugene,Oregon.  If you’ve ever seen the TV show ‘Axmen’ then you know what the country looks like. This is logging country and it is been hit really hard the last few years.

It started when I saw a post in the Sawmill Creek woodworking forum. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/

One of the parents was doing volunteer work and asked for suggestions for projects. Over the years I have learned to be a tad suspicious about anybody who says they represent a charity I don’t know. So I checked out Triangle Lake and it is a pretty incredible story.  They have 111 students from kindergarten through high school. They are rated excellent at all levels by the state of Oregon. They have, far and away, the worst equipped wood shop I have ever seen. They have a total annual budget of $200. The power tools were all worn out. There was one drill. If they needed a Phillips screwdriver the instructor or one of the volunteers had to bring one from home.

We sell tools so I had some tools around here. I stopped at Home Depot on the way home and picked some up some inexpensive basics. The nice people at Eastside Saw in Bellevue, Washington made me a really good deal on a sliding

Triangle lake School Thank You 2

compound miter saw for the school.  I contacted Snook’s Saw in Eugene, Oregon about some blades for the school and they contributed as well.  In addition other people on Sawmill Creek have sent checks, contributed lumber and found other ways to help this really fine, little school.

Today in the mail I got some ‘thank you’ cards.  We love helping kids getting thank you cards is really a lot of fun.

If you’re looking for a fun activity you might consider working with kids. In a world full of flaky charities and outright scams it is wonderfully refreshing to get involved with wood shops, scouts and other organizations that really do help kids.

I used to make these kinds of donations anonymously.  I was taught not to brag and this sort of sounds like that.  Maybe ten years ago or so, it was explained to me that I can really increase the effectiveness of my donations by making them public. By providing an endorsement for a fine organization I increase the chance of others also donating.

Triangle lake School Thank You 3

I am still a little uncomfortable about talking about this donation but it really is an exceptional school.  The thank you notes are better written than many of the resumes I get including those from college graduates.

Triangle lake School Thank You 4